An LGBTQ+-friendly wrestling event planned for a famous Las Vegas resort has been taken down.
PrideStyle Inclusive Pro Wrestling’s show planned for The Strat on April 18 has been halted. The event during Wrestlemania 42 week is now set for Fergusons Downtown.
The wrestling company announced March 13 on its social media pages that the show would not be staged at the resort. Plans for a follow-up show on May 23 were also spiked.
PrideStyle and The Strat’s social media team had collaborated on promotional social posts, and tickets had been on sale on The Strat’s official website.
But The Strat says it never signed off for the production. The promotional posts and ticket listings were reportedly the result of a lapse in communication within the company.
“There was never a signed contract for this event, which had been proposed for the space formerly occupied by Polly Esther’s nightclub,”says a statement from a rep from Golden Entertainment, which owns The Strat. “The company ultimately decided not to move forward, as the venue has not been in use since 2009 and is not suitable for events in its current condition.
“While there was initial enthusiasm around the concept, The Strat does not have a space that meets the operational requirements for this event. Based on these factors, the company declined to proceed.”
A nearly 30,000-square-foot nightspot, Polly Esther’s was positioned off the casino floor and ran from March 2007 through January 2009. The space has been dark ever since.
But PrideStyle’s founder says there were reasons beyond operational requirements that undercut plans for The Strat.
“It was explained to me that someone high up saw what we were doing and thought that the show was too progressive,” says Milhouse Malott, who developed the event and staged the first show in 2021. “That was after two years of trying to get in and talk with them and work it out. It all came together, to just all come apart immediately.”
Malott declined to specify who conveyed that message.
The Strat has countered that “any assertion that this event was canceled due to discrimination is false.”
Malott’s team was energetically moving forward when informed that the shows were not happening.
The founder was sent The Strat’s marketing assets sheet, showing the various sizes of the hotel’s logo, which are used in promotions. He also was sent the list of base ticket prices, from $25-$40; a certificate of liability insurance, which listed The Strat as certificate holder; the artist entertainment agreement, listing a $3,000 rental fee at the Polly Esther’s space.
These forms are required to stage such an event at the resort. But PrideStyle officials had only unsigned versions of these documents, working under the expectation that the events in April and May were a go.
Malott also walked the old Polly Esther’s space in February, anticipating his company’s first resort partnership and even a “pro-wrestling residency” at The Strat. He expected a crowd of more than 300 to turn out (its first event at Boulevard Mall drew about three dozen spectators).
But Malott learned March 7 that The Strat plans were in jeopardy when the resort’s social media team removed its tag as a collaborator on a post announcing the event. The ticket listings were also pulled from The Strat site.
The disruption has unfolded as PrideStyle has risen in prominence over the past five years as Vegas’s self-described “safe space for violence.” Their most recent event was the “Dreams Don’t Die 4” show at the since-closed Swan Dive, now Bizarre Bar, on Main Street in the Arts District in December.
Malott asserts the PrideStyle slogan is, “No racists, no transphobes, no homophobes, no bigots here.” The shows provide high drama and soaring acrobatics. Such mainstays as G-Sharpe, Johnnie Robbie, Taniya, Amira, Chris Nasty, Sonico and Queens of the Phone Age are fan favorites.
The PrideStyle crowds relish the staged donnybrooks and captivating subplots. The events celebrate athleticism, theatrics and inclusivity.
PrideStyle will continue to advance its cause at Fergusons Downtown, which rescued the April 18 event. The Latin-themed “Sobre La Luna” show is a benefit for Fifth Sun Project (tickets.pridestylepro.com for intel). The site of the May date is to be determined.
“Luckily, Fergusons has already stepped up,” Malott says. “We don’t go where we’re not wanted. “There are places that want us, and see our value as people.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.